Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1437 Isabella's Speed!

Max observed her with steady composure, detecting the subtle change in her intentions.

"Should you outpace me in this challenge," she went on, her stare fixed firmly, "I will serve as your maid for a decade. Should you falter and I overtake you, you shall act as my servant for ten years. What say you?"

A short hush settled between the two.

Carl's eyes bulged in shock. Laura drew in a quick breath, her usual poise cracking for the initial time on this path. They recognized Isabella Lumin as the budding Saintess, an exalted and aloof presence. Hearing her suggest such bold stakes went far beyond what they imagined.

Max himself paused in surprise for an instant.

He hadn't foreseen this bold turn. Betting resources among halls was one thing. A private gamble of servitude between pupils, particularly with the aspiring Saintess, was a whole other level.

But the astonishment inside him faded swiftly.

Instead, a slight, understated grin tugged at his mouth.

He'd been pondering ways to unravel the enigma of her Imperial Bloodline without force or pressure. The craving in his own lineage hadn't faded, merely quieted into watchful calm. Closeness, chances, and moments were required to grasp the connection between them.

And here she was, granting him ten years of nearness straight from her mouth.

Provided she lost.

A maid for ten years.

The twist in fate entertained him.

"These terms in the bet are quite intense," Max remarked deliberately, as if weighing it thoughtfully. Then his smile widened. "I agree."

Carl and Laura gaped at him in astonishment.

"What I'm short on at the moment," Max continued casually, "is truly a maid. Gaining such a lovely woman to attend me for ten years would make me lucky indeed. In this situation, I find no cause to turn it down."

His statement seemed lighthearted outwardly, but a keen edge lurked below the surface.

Carl's thoughts whirled in confusion. Laura gazed at Max like he was someone new. In their view, Max had always appeared detached from such issues, wholly devoted to cultivation and progress.

Carl's thoughts whirled in confusion. Laura gazed at Max like he was someone new. In their view, Max had always appeared detached from such issues, wholly devoted to cultivation and progress.

Taking on a wager tied to ego and supremacy felt out of character for him.

Isabella, though, saw no jest in it.

A vibrant chuckle burst from her.

"Excellent," she declared assuredly. "Let's begin the race."

With no further words, she spun around.

Boom.

Blazes under her soles flared out as she sped up. Her form turned into a flash of glowing radiance, darting beyond the first pillar's edge into the second.

One thousand one hundred miles.

One thousand two hundred miles.

One thousand four hundred miles.

One thousand six hundred miles.

Her silhouette pressed on at remarkable velocity through the second section. The fires burned fiercer and more intensely than before, but they barely slowed her. The latent power of the Imperial Bloodline stirred softly in her bloodstream, quelling parts of the ambient force.

One thousand seven hundred miles.

One thousand eight hundred miles.

One thousand nine hundred miles.

In a last surge of momentum, she breached the third pillar.

The hovering displays overhead tracked her movement, sparking whispers from watchers throughout the dome.

She didn't ease up right away in the third section. The blazes there held stronger ruinous will, infused with profound idea-based strain. Still, she drove onward, her presence steadying the rush.

It was only at the halfway mark of the third pillar that her speed tapered off.

Two thousand five hundred miles.

There, the surrounding flames gathered into denser flows, and fiery creatures started appearing in larger groups. Her progress shifted to careful steps instead of bursts.

Nevertheless, her showing was remarkable.

At that instant, Zain Heron had ventured into the fourth pillar, pressing his unyielding climb.

Behind the leaders, the distance grew.

And Max lingered at the second pillar's threshold, viewing serenely as the budding Saintess charged ahead with fiery resolve.

"Max, you need to move faster," Carl urged nervously, his sight darting from Max to the screens floating high. Isabella's shape was now a far-off blur in the third pillar, and the separation seemed to stretch with every second. "She's going so quick, she'll shake you off entirely."

Laura agreed from nearby, her face strained. She couldn't fathom why Max took on such a stake, one demanding a full decade of service.

Yet despite her questions, she held her tongue. Max was part of their group. He hailed from the Thirty Third Hall, and beyond that, he was Elder Virelila's personal disciple. That sufficed for her full support without a second thought.

The pair sensed the mounting strain at the second pillar's border, but their focus stayed on Max's unmoving stance.

He, however, looked utterly relaxed.

"No rush is required," Max replied with a soft grin, his eyes fixed on the far-off image of Isabella's push. "This isn't really about racing."

Carl scowled. "How can you say it's not a race? She's hit the third layer and keeps going strong."

Max turned his focus to them at last.

"No deadline exists for this test," he clarified evenly. "The Path to Eternal Flames values not just quickness. It prizes thoroughness. Her hitting her boundary fast or slow makes no difference. The key is the farthest point she achieves."

His tone stayed even, without haste.

"If she burns out in the third or fourth pillar from charging wildly, while I go further with steady command, victory is mine. This bet isn't on quicker steps. It's on who endures the deepest."

Carl's worried look eased a bit as he absorbed the explanation.

Laura breathed out softly. "You're aiming to save energy and move with care, then."

Max gave a subtle nod.

"The inner sections will grow even tougher," he added. "Since the first pillar holds flame ideas up to the fifth degree, the fifth pillar onward won't just test stamina. They'll probe insight and base. Charging blindly without grasping the fire's nature would be unwise."

He looked up again briefly.

Isabella's swift rise was striking, but it didn't faze Max.

"All I must do is go beyond her," Max murmured softly. "Her leading now changes nothing."

Carl and Laura shared a look and let out a breath.